A flash of space light that amazes astronomers with its standard glow
Astronomers have noticed the brightest flash of light ever, emanating 2.4 billion light-years from Earth, likely from the birth of a black hole.
The gamma-ray burst, the most intense form of electromagnetic radiation, was first observed by telescopes in orbit around the Earth on October 9.
Its residual light is still being studied by scientists all over the world.
Scientists estimate that these explosions, which last for several minutes, are caused by the death of giant stars thirty times the size of the sun, according to astrophysicist Brendan O'Connor, told AFP.
The star explodes and transforms into a supernova, before collapsing in on itself and forming a black hole. Then the material forms a disk around the black hole, and it is absorbed and released there in the form of energy that travels at a speed equal to 99.99% of the speed of light.
The flash released photons carrying 18 TeV of energy (18 followed by 12 zeros), a record high, and affected long-wave communications in the Earth's atmosphere.
"This breaks records, both in the amount of photons and in the energy of photons that reach us," said Brendan O'Connor, who provided new observations of the phenomenon yesterday, using the infrared instruments of the Gemini Southern Observatory telescope in Chile.
The astrophysicist added, "This bright object, so close, is in fact a once-in-a-century event."
"Gamma rays generally release within seconds the same amount of energy that our Sun has produced or will produce over its lifetime," he explained. This event is the brightest gamma-ray glow ever.
The glow, called GRB221009A, was observed on Sunday morning (Eastern Coast Time) by several telescopes, many of which belong to the US space agency (NASA).
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